We’re not to blame for climate change: PM

Developing countries, including India, are not to be blamed for climate change, prime minister Manmohan Singh has said in no uncertain terms. “The historic accumulation of carbon dioxide is the consequence of 150 years of industrialisation in major developed countries of the world,” the usually soft-spoken PM said firmly at the India Economic Summit here on Sunday.

To a question on his expectations from the Copenhagen summit on climate change, Singh replied, “Climate change is a global reality. It is our obligation to work with like-minded countries” to arrive at a logical solution.

He raised his voice a notch higher when he spoke on terrorism. In reply to a question on how India was coping with its neighbourhood, he said, “We are very worried about the rise of terrorism in our neighbourhood, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” He pointed out that the world discovered terrorism after 9/11 “But we have lived with it much longer.”

India needs a neighbourhood where peace and stability can be ensured, Singh said. For that, sustained cooperation and dialogue between countries is a must.

Asked about the social programme closest to his heart, he named education and health. Calling India a latecomer in these two areas, he said, “We should have done much more.” In the next couple of years, the PM has projected education spend to reach 6% of GDP, and that health to around 2.5%.